The massifs, natural divisions of the Alps
From a distance, the Alps can be seen as a mountainous ensemble made up of several blocks. It is when you get closer that you notice the irregularities, the gaps, the particularities which make the originality and the beauty of the Alps through their different massifs. In total, there are about thirty Alpine massifs that make up the French part of the Alps, from the Chablais in the north (on the shores of Lake Geneva) to the Pre-Alps of Nice in the south. The largest Alpine massifs in terms of surface area are also the highest in terms of the altitude of their peaks: Mont-Blanc, Vanoise, Ecrins (the largest) and Mercantour. The Prealps, folded and limestone, form a springboard to the high mountains. They sometimes look like real fortresses, like the Vercors, the Dévoluy or the Baronnies. Deep valleys, both passageways and industrial centres, separate the massifs: Tarentaise, Maurienne, Arc, Oisans, Romanche, Ubaye... It is in these mountains, to compensate for the desertification, that winter sports and winter tourism were born.
At the top of Europe
The coveted title of the highest (and most famous) summit among all European mountains has been won for more than two centuries - before it was not known how to measure it - by Mont Blanc, which rises to 4,807.81 m - measured in September 2021. Note that the summit, composed of a snow cover of about 14 m, has been losing altitude in recent years due to global warming and is moving northwest, in the Northern Alps. Conquered on August 8, 1786 by Paccard and Balmat, it owes much of its fame to the Swiss Horace-Bénédict de Saussure who studied it for a long time and then climbed it in his turn in 1787 before making it known through his writings throughout Europe. To admire it, from near or far, you must go to Chamonix, at the foot of the white giant. The world capital of mountaineering allows you to reach the greatest summits by their altitude and difficulty: Dôme du Goûter (4,304 m), Aiguille du Midi (3,842 m), Aiguille Verte (4,122 m), Grandes Jorasses (4,208 m) and the Aiguilles Rouges barrier. Around the Mont Blanc, it is a concentration of high mountains.
Among the other high summits, one should not miss from north to south the Pointe de la Grande Casse - 3 852 m - which majestically dominates the Parc de la Vanoise, the queen Meije (3 983 m) and the Barre des Ecrins (4 102 m) which seems to protect the massif and the park of the same name, the Aiguille de Chambeyron (3,411 m) which is one of the more than 3,000 that have drawn the border with Italy or the mount Pelat (3,051 m) which opens the Mercantour Park and already looks towards Provence.
Alpine passes, on the mountain road
Between the high peaks of the Alps, it is the road passes above 2,000 m that have also made great names for themselves: iseran pass, the highest French road pass at 2,764 m; Agnel pass, on the border with Italy, at 2,744 m; Bonnette pass, in the Mercantour massif, at 2,715 m; Galibier pass, the Mecca of cycling at 2,642 m; Lautaret pass, Izoard pass, Madeleine pass, Petit-Saint-Bernard, Mont-Cenis, Vars or Croix-de-Fer passes. Allowing traffic between the valleys, for cyclists who are not afraid of intense efforts, they have opened up access to the mountains to everyone and offer a unique road route through the Alps from Thonon on Lake Geneva to Menton on the Mediterranean.
From the depths of the Alps to the caves of the Vercors
If the Alps invite us to look up to the snowy peaks, they also shelter some of the deepest caves. In fact, the deepest natural underground caves in France are the Mirolda chasm (-1,733 m) and the Jean-Bernard chasm (-1,602 m), the2nd and3rd
deepest in Europe, 6th and 7th deepest in the world. These abyssal chasms are both located in the Haut-Giffre massif, in the commune of Samoëns. The Vercors, a limestone massif par excellence, is also a paradise for cavers. The Berger chasm, located in the north of the massif, is world famous. Even non-specialists of underground galleries can enjoy the beauties hidden under their feet. The Grotte de la Luire, the 6th largest cave in France with a length of 40 km and a depth of 547 m, is not only worth a visit as an important place of the Resistance, but also as a superb underground cavity with particularly extensive developments. Another cave worth visiting is the Draye-Blanche. This cave of impressive dimensions (100 000m3) is an obligatory stage in the discovery of the Vercors. You can admire one last time the gaping hole through which many prehistoric animals have fallen (15,000 bones found from 45 different species) and whose history is exposed. We return to the surface to find the light of the Alps.The lakes, pearls of the Alps
If the Alps are above all known for their mountains, we must never forget another geographical feature of this massif: the lakes. These lakes, huge or tiny, form a chain along the Alpine chain and are a source of life for a particular fauna as well as for tourists who come in summer to admire the colours (deep blue, emerald green, unfathomable black, etc.) of the mountain lakes and to practice the same water sports as on the seaside. Here are some lakes from north to south of the Alps.
Lake Geneva is one of the largest lakes in Europe. Shared between Switzerland and France - 234 km2 and 53 km of shoreline on the French side - at the foot of the Chablais mountains, it is a veritable little inland ocean which, behind its apparent calm, hides many storms capable of sinking a boat. In this lake where the Rhône comes to wash itself, as it arrives all muddy from the mountains of the Valais to emerge clearer on the Geneva side, there is a quantity of fish - about fifty professional fishermen live on the French side - and among the twenty or so species listed the famous char, trout, pike or perch which are a gastronomic delight
Lake Annecy is reputed to be the purest lake in Europe. It must be said that it was certainly the most polluted in the middle of the 20th century and that it is at the cost of considerable clean-up work that it has regained its azure blue colour. Crossed by the Fier river, Lake Annecy is well worth a visit to see the charming little villages. It also deserves a long stop to enjoy a "sunbathing" and the quality of its waters and beaches.
The Lac du Bourget is the largest natural lake in France with its 18 km length, its 3.5 km width and its average depth of 85 m. This lake, like Annecy, was very polluted and if its fauna is exceptionally rich it is because it is preserved today
The lake of Serre-Ponçon at 800 m of altitude is another kind of lake, of the race of those built by the man to retain water in order to create a clean and renewable energy. The Serre-Ponçon reservoir is larger than Annecy and its earthen dam is 120 m high! Serre-Ponçon is used to control the course of a capricious river, the Durance, to produce electrical energy and to irrigate Provence. These are two villages that were destroyed by the rising waters in 1960. Today, one can admire the work of man from the EDF belvedere, visit Embrun which offers the treasures of its old town or go to the foot of the capped damsels, natural curiosities which border the lake
If we have only mentioned the largest of the Alpine lakes, we must not forget all the others which offer hikers pleasant watering holes where they can refresh themselves and rest to understand that the Alps are not only shaped by the mountains, but also by the water which runs on the surface and underground.
Forests and rivers, natural resources exploited by man
The forest is omnipresent in the Alps, except of course in the highest alpine levels. This immense forest plays a role in protecting the environment, but also ensures a strong supply of spruce, providing forest communities with sustainable resources. Among the largest forests in the Alps are the remarkable Grande Chartreuse forest (38), the Boscodon forest (05) and the Vercors forest (38 and 26), which covers about 365 km2. The same goes for the water that runs through the Alps with all the power provided by a relief made of gorges and waterfalls. A natural resource that is widely exploited by man through the numerous dams and other torrent penstocks to create clean and renewable energy. Among the major rivers in the Alps are the Rhone (which does not pass through the French Alps very often), the Durance, the Isère, the Arve, the Drac..
Geography and outdoor sports
The tormented geography of the Alps is at the origin of many sports practices, starting with mountaineering which was born in the Alps near Chamonix. The via ferrata was born in the Italian Alps before spreading to the French walls. If skiing was not born on the slopes of the Alps, the so-called alpine skiing has largely developed in the French mountains. The steep relief has allowed the development of new sensational sports, such as paragliding, which was born on the Perthuiset mountain in Mieussy in Haute-Savoie. Speleologists, for whom the Alps are a providential exploration ground, have also developed the technique of canyoning to access the gorges. On the torrential waters of the Alps, other sports attract the general public under the supervision of professionals: rafting or hydrospeed for swimming in white water.
